The way we approach work and our attitude towards what happens is critical to our success.
Yet we rarely stop to think about how we’re working. We’re usually too busy just getting on with it.
So how are you approaching your work?
Can you identify with any of the characters below?
Simone enjoyed thinking about the work she needed to do. She spent lots of time planning and thinking about how to do stuff.
But whenever she was under pressure, she seemed to miss the deadline. She just couldn’t work out why.
Ben found it easy to get excited about the new opportunities he came across. He would get really involved with his work - he took it personally, because he got a buzz out of it.
But if things went wrong or he had a falling out with a colleague, it really hit him hard. His boss would say he over-reacted and "blew his top" easily. Ben was starting to lie awake at night, worrying about whether he’d ever get it right.
Danny knew it was important to meet deadlines. He was great at getting stuff done.
But sometimes it didn't seem to be the right stuff.
He couldn't see the point of planning - that was a complete waste of time. If something needed doing and you knew what to do, just get on and do it .
The way we approach a project can be described as consisting of three elements:
All three elements are important and, if we are struggling to achieve something, it can often be because these elements have got out of balance.
|
Description |
Symptoms |
Too much |
Too little |
Thinking |
Planning, theory, ideas |
Simone
Lots of time spent planning and researching, but never actually getting things finished and not having time to complete objectives. |
Can lead to tasks that haven’t been thought through, making it hard to succeed. |
Feeling |
Emotions, subjective judgements, personal awareness |
Ben
Too much time spent here can show up as worrying and lack of confidence. It can cause a lack of objective evaluation and a non-business-like approach. |
Can mean you make decisions that are so logical and rational, that you forget the “human” aspect of working. |
Doing |
Actions, behaviours, tasks |
Danny
An overload in “Doing” can result in doing the same thing over and over, not learning from unsuccessful tasks and wasting time, money and effort. |
Not enough “doing” results in missed deadlines and lots of nice ideas, but little progress. |
If we are concentrating too much on one of these elements, neglecting the others, then the project is less likely to succeed.
So how does this impact your work?
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Exercise: Mercedes Model
How are you approaching your work?
Could it be that you’re spending too much time in one of the three elements? It doesn’t have to be a perfect three-way split. But if it’s too far out of balance, it can lead to problems.
- Draw the approximate proportions of your “Thinking”, “Feeling” and “Doing” as segments of a circle.
- What would you need to change, to get more balance?
- How might those changes impact your success?
This example might be Danny’s response to the exercise.
What would you need to change, to get more balance?
I guess I’m a bit busy with the old jumping in before I think stuff through. Then, when I don’t get it right, I lose my rag and get really down.
Maybe if I spend more time thinking, I’ll actually get a chance to review how things went, rather than just bottling it all up and taking it out on my girlfriend. Oh, and I’d probably learn from my mistakes...
How might those changes impact yoursuccess?
I’d learn from my mistakes and actually increase my chances of getting stuff done - and getting my boss off my back. If I spent more time preparing, I’d have a better idea of what needs doing and be able to deliver my objectives more easily.
Think about the balance. You don’t have to have an even split between thinking, feeling and doing, but it’s important to have a balance of each of the segments, appropriate to the task.
Often just by focusing on the 3-way split, we can uncover solutions to problems and find it easier to make decisions. Take a moment to look at how you’re choosing to work. Are you making choices based on thinking? Or emotions? Or are you just doing it?
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